"Can you save me from this world of mine,
before I get myself arrested with this expectation?
You are the one. Look what you've done.
What have you done?
This is not some kind of joke.
You're just a kid!
You weren't ready for what you did!"
"Ordinary," by Train
Chapter 13 – The Greater Good
Dipper hopped back just in the nick of time, avoiding being knocked over by the blue blur passing him by.
"Man, I just can't lose this guy!"
It had been only moments before when the miniature armored teenager had set foot onto Downtown Gravity Falls, determined to make his way to the Arcade in hopes of stopping the digital influence flowing over into the real world.
*BBBBBUUUUUUZZZZ*
An unusual humming sound made Dipper stop in his tracks. As his eyes scanned the areas for clues to the source of the noise, he started to charge his buster, readying a solid shot in case trouble would arise. He looked out into the woodland distance, watching in confused awe as the foliage seemed to part away as an invisible, yet incredibly powerful force flew through them.
"What…" Dipper faltered, taking a firmer grasp on his arm cannon, "What is that?!"
The rumbling notion came closer. The wind picked up and splashed across his face, forcing him to hold an arm up to shield himself. The small debris and pebbles lying at Dipper's feet vibrated violently. The crashing weighed heavily on his amplified eardrums, "It's like a sonic boom or something! But that's impossible!"
*WWHOOOOOSH!*
From out of the woods, a sapphire fireball flew straight towards Dipper. Out of reflex, he bent his knees and leapt out of harm's way. Dipper held his gun tightly and aimed diagonally towards the soaring streak.
*BBBBLLLLLAAAAAMMMMMM!*
As the smoke cleared, Dipper landed on the ground, only to find a crater entrenched in the concrete. "Dang it! I missed!" He looked ahead to see the blur making a U-turn back in his direction.
"Looks like this isn't going to be easy…" The tiny defender held his arm outwards as he released a barrage of energy pellets in the smear's path.
*PEW! PEW! PEW!*
"Then again, when is it ever easy?"
The cerulean flash nimbly dodged between each of Dipper's blasts, never once decreasing as it continued blazing down the road. Before the boy even realized he missed a second time, the menace collided into him, sending Dipper spinning to the ground as it sped away. Left dizzy by the encounter, he clutched the sides of his head to keep the world from whirling uncontrollably before his eyes.
"Urgh…" Dipper let out a sickly groan, "It felt like being hit by a hurricane! That thing is like a hundred times faster than that red-horned robot guy from before!" The humming quickly returned, letting him know that the entity was coming back for a third time. Dipper forced himself to his feet and twirled to his left, seeing that the azure flare was aimed straight at him.
"I got to nail this guy now, or else, it'll tear a hole through me…"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His arm came back through his arm cannon. The augmented ear holes on his curved helmet allowed him to better judge the distance between him and his foe. Dipper could hear the countless sounds that it made as it traveled at alarming speeds: the rattling of the earth as it passed by, the swooshing of the plant life being throttled by the blast, as well as an unusual clicking sound…
In his self-induced darkness, Dipper pulled his arm back, and using his instinct, threw his fist towards the source of the noise with all of his strength.
*KRAK!*
The sound of cracking, twisted metal made Dipper open his eyes. The blur was thrown into the air, sparking and flicking before forcing itself to a complete stop. The boy squinted in disbelief the enemy's true form, "What in the world?"
His pursuer appeared to be a thin, blue robot. Its skull was made up of navy-colored fins, resembling a form of solid pointy hair. A pair of triangular yellow ears stuck out of the sides of its forehead. Pitch black eyes with laser-red pupils stared deep into Dipper's soul. A pure silver mouth showed no emotion, rounded off by a needle-tipped nose on the front.
A simple cobalt, hallowed sphere served as the robot's chest. A green, triangular emerald was latched into the front side, leaving Dipper to wonder if it served as a possible power source. The back end exhausted a small, yet powerful rocket blast, allowing the robot to hover in mid-air. Its limbs were made of slender, yet sturdy titanium rods. Metal paws with razor-sharpen blades served in lieu of hands. Rounded red and white ovals were welded to the bottoms of its legs, reminding Dipper of iron-casted sneakers.
"Call me crazy," Dipper mulled over, "But with the spikes all over and everything, this guy kinda looks like a metallic hedgehog…"
The robot conked its neck loudly until it was forced back straight. With its original stance restored, the machine looked down upon Dipper, placed a clawed hand against its side and raised the index finger of its other hand. It waggled the digit back and forth in Dipper's face as it let out a series of mechanical clicks and unintelligible gabbles, showing its displeasure in being socked in the head.
"Hey!" Dipper pointed back at the villain, "Don't wave your finger at me, pal! Besides, you started it!"
Growing irate by his response, the metal threat made fists and shook them in anger. The jewel embedded in its chest started to glow brightly. The surge of jade energy grew larger as time passed.
"Ohh…that can't be good…"
*POOOSH!*
The energy ball has hurled towards Dipper. He narrowly ducked out of its path and immediately returned fire. The swift baddie evaded the blast and released two more shots within mere seconds.
*POOOSH! POOOSH!*
Dipper jumped back to elude the second green glow. The third homed in on him, forcing him to raise his arm blaster and shoot at the last moment.
*KA-BOOM!*
The impact sent Dipper flying backwards as lime mists filled the scene. He tried to see his way through the haze, only to see the alloyed porcupine dashing towards him. Dipper crossed his arms and held them up to protect himself. Sparks flew wildly as the automaton clawed at him, forcing his back against a nearby building.
"This is useless!" he lowered his head so it wouldn't be burnt, "My buster's not fast enough to nail this guy. Maybe if I changed weapons…"
With a grunt, Dipper gave a blunt kick to the machine, sending it wheeling head over heels into the distance.
"BUSTER CHANGE – METAL BLADE!"
A shredded gear formed in each hand. Dipper hurled the projectiles at the nuisance, only for the android to shift and twisted its body, almost like it somehow knew where the blades were going to strike.
"Okay, so that didn't work," Dipper despaired, "Umm – Umm, oh, AIR SHOOTER!"
His arm morphed into a turbine, creating a strong current to overtake the metal hedgehog. At first, it appeared to get caught up in the windfall…
"YEAH! It's working!"
All of a sudden, the robot started to increase in speed. A yellowish flame rose up over the enemy's frame as it altered position, burning towards Dipper head first with its arms stretched outwards. Out of reflex, the armored lad hopped into the air, just as the tin hazard slammed on its brakes to avoid slamming into the brick wall. Seeing that his foe stopped momentarily, Dipper thrust his weight back downwards, his blue-gloved fist rocketing towards the earth.
*CRASH!*
Once more, the machine moved out of danger's path, resulting in Dipper plowing his hand through the cement sidewalk. He looked up from the crushed gravel to see the mechanism strafing around him in circles.
"Darn it! It's just too fast! If only I had something just as quick…" The last words triggered his memory, reminding him again of the fallen leader of the Second Numbers. "Wait, that's it! QUICK BOOMERANG!"
His weaponry changed for the third time, as a reddish-pink colored boomerang materialized in his right hand. Dipper chucked it at the artificial mammal, only to see it brought to a stop with an echoing THUNK! As soon as the projectile left Dipper's hand, two more appeared in each palm. Moving at rapid speed, the determined teen unleashed a barrage of blurred arched blades at the bot.
*KLING! KLING! KLING! KLING! KLING!*
The hedgehog was tossed side to side, a string of deepen dents gathering across its blue skin. However, it was able to maintain flight.
"It's working…" Dipper noted, "But it's not strong enough to knock 'em out of the sky..." A new plan speedily began to work its way through his mind, "Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way; I keep trying to go faster than it, when I should be trying to slow things down!"
Dipper clasped his hands together and shut his eyes. Locked in full concentration, he pushed away and shouted to the top of his lungs, "TIME STOPPER!"
*FLASH!*
When the boy reopened his eyes, he discovered that the world instantly came to a complete stop. The chaos of the outside world had gone silent. The unrelenting overcast blocking the sun from the sky froze in place. Dipper looked up to see that his newest nemesis remained stuck in mid-air as a result of being trapped in time itself.
The slow-placed ticking sound came forth, serving as a reminder that his time was limited. Without wasting another moment, Dipper rushed towards the robot and gripped its slender ankles. He yanked the metal hedgehog out of the sky and repeatedly smashed its thin form against the sidewalk. Bits and pieces of indigo coating flew everywhere as the frantic boy continued his onslaught.
*TICK – TICK – TICK…*
As the passing of time returned to the universe, Dipper slumped to the ground exhausted as he overlooked the robot's current state. Its body was left mangled and caved in beyond repair. Its head and limbs sprouted over wildly as it seemed to short-circuit, letting out a succession of sparks every so often. The rocket on its back end shortly fizzed out to nothing more than a few black fumes.
Dipper nudged the wreck with his boot, making sure that it was fully incapacitated. The android didn't move an inch on its own, giving a sense of relief to his overwhelmed psyche. With his strength gathered, he rose up and made his way down the block, passing a local garage around the corner.
A contorted sequence of electronic twaddle was growing louder from behind him. Dipper spun around to see the wrecked automaton flying towards him at top speed, a red hue spread across its warped remains as a pulsating, electric force field surrounded it.
At the last second, Dipper sidestepped out of the path of destruction as the barely-functioning machine collided into the garage's shutter with full force. It remained pinned within the steel door, twitching and jolting in the throes of death.
"Huh…" Dipper shrugged his shoulders, barely surprised by the sudden kamikaze attack, "Gotta go fast, I guess…" He circled around the damaged machine and raised his hand to his chin in thought, "Hmm…it's technically a complete robot…." Dipper reached out towards the foe, "I wonder what kind of power I can take from you…"
*KA-BOOM!*
The metal hedgehog exploded before Dipper could lay his fingertips on it, leaving him with nothing more than a face-full of smoke and a body covered in soot. He coughed out the pollution, waving away the smog from his personal space, "Err…never mind, I guess…"
Dipper resumed his original course, only to hear someone crying out in the distance. The sensors in his ears could make out a series of grunts and groans over the layers of shrubbery at the edge of town. At first, he went to ignore the noise, figuring that the sooner he'd reach the Arcade, the faster all of this would go away. As he stepped around the corner, he paused, as thoughts of the kind-hearted doctor flooded his mind. What would have happened if he merely went on his way then? The words of the Slaughterhouse Mask weighed heavily on his heart; what if another innocent person was in jeopardy because of something he inadvertently let happen?
He gritted his teeth in guilt and self-annoyance as he departed towards the sound of distress. Dipper pushed his way through the thick bushes and greenery, jogging past the numerous trees that blocked his path. A few moments later, Dipper found himself overlooking a small, yet secluded field just outside of town. He could see two hulking figures duking it out; their battle cries and roars grew louder and more intense with each blow traded. The shorten explorer hid behind the nearest hedge, peering out of the center to view the mêlée unfurling before his eyes.
"I…I can't believe it!"
One of the fighters was none other than the world warrior turned scoundrel Rumble McSkirmish. Much to Dipper's surprise, he appeared to be in perfect fighting condition; a vast difference from the last time the boy had spotted him, after being sucker-punched by the King of Thieves back in the gaming universe. The muscle-bound pixelated fighter was locked in mortal combat with some sort of bicephalous monster that Dipper had never seen before.
"Huh? Who is that guy? He's not one of the Fight Fighters…"
Rumble's opponent was a gigantic two-headed cyclops with sickly-gray skin. Each head was complete with twin dagger-like horns sticking out of the forehead and matching demonic, glowing-red eyes. Their boar-like snouts bled liquefied pixels instead of plasma. Dual fangs poked out of the lip-less mouths. Luxurious, golden-looped earrings hung from their elven-like pointed ears. The twin craniums bobbed and moved on their own accord, snapping and biting at the kung-fu master.
The heads shared an extremely built, yet heavily scarred muscular torso. Its left arm sported a heavy wooden billy club decorated with deadly spikes. Oddly enough, its lower half consisted of arched, fluffy goat legs, ending with black cloven feet.
Dipper studied the fiend in absolute horror, "It's like a mish-mash of every mythological creature all rolled up into one…"
Rumble planted his legs and gathered his chi. He rushed towards the ogre and started to pummel his hardened fists against the beast's chest. It stumbled back as the warrior increased his offensive. The twin eyes of the cyclops shone as it threw its body back and released an echoing snarl. It grasped its mace tightly and swung it towards Rumble, sending the smaller challenger flying. The savage chuckled as it patted the pointy weapon against its open hand.
"Heh…C-C-C-Combo Breaker…"
Pushing himself up from the ground, Rumble wiped the mixture of saliva and soil away from his mouth, "A winner doesn't lose…" He shouted to the top of his lungs as he pointed at the monster, "And I don't lose!"
Enraged at his rival's persistence, the cyclops lowered its heads and breathed a column of fire towards him. Rumble connected his wrists together, pulled his arms back, and threw them forward.
"FIREBALL!"
A colossal explosion forced Dipper to turn his head away from the battlefield. When the dust settled, he glanced back to see that the pugilists fought back, in spite of lack of sight, leading their way to victory through pure killer instinct.
After a self-imposed stalemate, they parted, only for Rumble to attempt to gain the upper hand with a continuous airborne roundhouse kick. The leviathan was pushed away, as it started to kick and stomp one of its cloven legs furiously, as if it was going to charge straight ahead.
Dipper raised an eyebrow as the creature remained stationed in place, "What's it doing?"
Seconds later, he started to notice that all of the cuts, scrapes, and bruises started to disappear from the beast's body. A thin, yellow aura formed around its gigantic frame.
"It's healing itself!" Dipper looked back at his one-time favorite Fight Fighter. "Rumble's strong, but can't fight forever! He has to finish this now, or else, that thing's going to overpower him!"
Apparently, the beefy karate expert thought the same way. As an orange energy barrier surrounded him as his dotted black eyes turned pure white. His dirty blonde hair rose up to a fine point.
"Uh oh!" Dipper recognized this from when he was given the pounding of a lifetime by the hulking brute. "This isn't going to be pretty…"
Rumble rushed towards the cyclops, dodging the various projectiles thrown at him. He drew his arm back as it started to flash brightly…
"UPPERCUT!"
The behemoth was launched into the air. Rumble followed it into the sky, and as soon as he was lined up with the ogre, plunged his flame-colored fist into its mid-section.
"DOWNER-CUT!"
The cyclops came hurtling down into the earth, created a small cave-in beneath its massive body. It started to spasm wildly, its arms and legs flailed every which way. Dazzling crimson bolts of lightning overcame its body as the gray skin grew a blood red. Unexpectedly, the monster's head exploded as thick liquid magma flowed from its neck. The remainder of the body fell silent before melting into a puddle of rainbow-colored pixels.
"WHOA!" Dipper accidentally exclaimed out loud. He promptly covered his mouth, hoping that he didn't alert the enormous game character to his presence.
Rumble froze in mid-step, his senses set to high alert by the cry. Without warning, he spun around and shoved an open palm into the distance, sending a green fireball in Dipper's direction. The metal-suited boy dove out from his hiding place just before it was turned to ashes. As he collected himself, a huge shadow was cast over him. Dipper looked up to see Rumble looming before him with a cocky smile on his two-dimensional face.
"What's this?" he asked, cracking his knuckles, "A new challenger appears?!"
Dipper waved his arm, "Rumble! Rumble, wait!" He thought of removing his helmet, and the suit complied, digitally scaling back the headgear until his curly brown hair became visible. "It's me! Dipper!"
The warrior's unpatched eye widened at the sight of his one-time foe, "Huh?! Little-boy-who-fights-like-a-girl?! But…" He leaned side to side, trying to gain a better look at Dipper's current condition, "…it cannot be! Your power levels are vastly higher! They're over nine-thousand!"
"Right, right, about that…" Dipper rolled his eyes, somewhat annoyed by hearing the overplayed internet meme for the millionth time. "There's actually a funny story about that…" He stood up and dusted himself off, "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in the Fight Fighters machine?"
"I am not sure," Rumble replied with his broken "Engrish" accent, "I was fighting against the strongest fighters that the Soviet Union had to offer when a bright light blinded me! I awoke in this world, surrounded by the worst villains the gaming worlds had to offer!"
The burly brawler pounded his bare chest with a sense of pride, "I am bound by honor not to let these threats take over an innocent planet!"
Dipper found himself baffled. "Wait, so he wants to be a good guy again?!"
"Hold on," Dipper took a careful step further, "Are you saying that you wanna help save this world?"
"But, of course! It is my duty as a dedicated hero to do so!"
The thirteen-year-old couldn't believe it! This sounded like the Rumble McSkirmish that he grew to love as a child, before his switch to a treacherous kidnapper.
"Say, Rumble," Dipper prided, "This may sound crazy, but…what do you say to…" He winced a little, expecting his offer to be rejected, "…some type of team-up…?"
"What an idea!" The strapping fighter slapped Dipper on the back, unintentionally knocking him to the ground again. "Together, we can easily overthrow the forces of darkness!"
Dipper shakily made it to his feet, "You – You really think so?"
"Why, yes! We will conquer every wicked wrongdoer out there!"
"Yeah?"
"The blameless townsfolk will have nothing left to fear from this menace!"
"Yeah!" Dipper's confidence grew with each retort; his usual sense of mistrust was being replaced as he geeked out.
"And we will find your freckled-faced ginger princess!"
"Yeah! Wait? Wendy?! You mean Wendy, right?! She's alive?! How do you know that? Did you see her?"
Rumble let out a hearty laugh, "I can sense her power levels! Amazing such power comes from a girl so thin…"
"Okay!" Dipper went on, excited by his video game fantasies coming to life, "We find Wendy, and then?"
"And then," Rumble answered, as a dotted, blocky smile appeared on his marked face, "I drain every ounce of power from her body!"
The grin was instantly wiped off of Dipper's face, "W-What?!"
"All of her strength will be added to my own!"
"Rumble!" Dipper objected, "You can't be serious! I mean, that's insane!" He pulled at his hair, "And here…and here, I got caught up with all of this, and I thought you've actually changed! How could I be so stupid?"
The digital character finally understood that his cohort was less than pleased with his announcement, "What?! You said you wanted to help save this place! Once again, you have betrayed and deceived me, seconds after our "team-up!"
Dipper pulled away from the angry fighter, his arm cannon started to charge until it turned a neon-yellow-green, "That doesn't make sense, but either way, I can't – I won't let you hurt Wendy!"
His heart raced with every passing second, "The least I can do for her is keep this psycho as far away as humanly possible…"
Rumble placed his fists against his hips and mockingly chortled at Dipper's protective measures, "You dare to challenge me? Perhaps Rumble hit you so hard you forgot what happened last time."
Dipper's stomach churned as he recalled the despairing memory. "Things will be different," he thought, noting the special abilities the blue armor gave him. "They have to be different…"
Before he knew it, Rumble sprinted towards him, ready to attack, "FIREBALL THROW! LIGHTNING-BALL THROW! FIRE!" He let another flaming attack flow through his conjoined hands.
"AHH!" Out of reflex, Dipper swiped away the fireball with his free hand just before it struck his body. The projectile ricocheted from his glove into a nearby tree, splitting the mighty oak into two. He turned back towards his aggressor with a new mindset as a small, self-assured smirk formed.
"WHA?!" Rumble could only gaze at the destruction in disbelief. "An omega counter?! But how?!"
Dipper pointed his blaster at his opponent, "My turn!"
"KA-WHOOSH!"
A fully-charged shot struck Rumble square in the chest, sending the mighty giant to the ground back-first. With an irritated growl, he flipped back on his legs, and resumed his fighting pose. The champion rubbed his redden, burnt pecs. "Impressive…but you'll need more than that to win!"
Dipper focused his strength on his arm-gun, readying another attack. Knowing that Wendy's life was on the line (yet again), he was prepared to give his all from making matters worse. His helmet automatically covered his head, as if it was aware that a battle for about to start. He squeezed his hands into tightened fists, "Let the games begin…"
Simultaneously, the two raced towards one another. Rumble opened with a chain of rapid-fire punches. To avoid them, Dipper slid between his legs, and sprung up on the other side. The confounded brute spun around to see his little adversary bending down in preparation of his next attack.
"MEGA UPPERCUT!"
The young detective delivered a glowing sapphire fist to the warrior's mug, sending him high into the sky. As Dipper gave chase into the atmosphere, he wondered where the sudden thought of naming his surprise attack came from; it was as like a part of him already knew the proper terminology, like a similar scenario had happened before in a different time and place.
Once he was above the ground, Dipper flew up next to Rumble. The rivals traded punches and kicks, until the blue speck clenched his fists together and held them over his head. Dipper threw his arms downwards, sending Rumble rocketing towards the dirt. The youngster landed nimbly on his booted feet as the video game anti-hero pushed himself up from the ground.
"Very impressive," Rumble complimented as the dust flowed from his pixel-made body. "You have acquired new moves since the last time we fought…" The red essence quickly made its return, completely engulfing the martial artist. "But you are not the only one to do so!" Within seconds, Rumble hopped from a kneeling position and punched the earth with a thunderous blow, "GROUND ROCKET PUNCH!"
Dipper was caught off-guard as a layer of the ground rose up and knocked him off his feet. The back of his head thwacked roughly against the solid floor. Luckily, his helmet protected him against serious injury. Before he could recover, Dipper felt something latch onto both of his thighs. A second later, he was hoisted off the floor and into the air. Nausea rapidly grew in the pit of his stomach as he was spun around into countless circles.
"HHEEEYYYY! Put me *BURP!* down!" Dipper belched sickly.
"As…you…wish!" Rumble let go of the tiny boy, sending him soaring into the distance, "HERCULEAN DISCUS THROW!"
"AHHH!" Dipper shrieked, waving his limbs helplessly as he was hurled through the air. He painfully skidded against the green-filled ground, spitting out leaves and blades of glass that ended up in his mouth. The constant *THUD* stemming from vast footsteps nearby alerted Dipper that his enemy was approaching. He rose up, his sights set down of the barrel of his blaster, only to find himself all alone in the secluded woodlands.
"Huh?!" Dipper twirled around on his heels, looking for anything out of the ordinary, "Where'd he go?!"
From out of the distance, a distorted shadow tore towards him. The teen could notice two red eyes watching him from within the darkness.
"INSTANT DEMON TELEPORT!"
Rumble materialized from the depths before him. The fighter jumped off the ground and gyrated around in a repeating loop.
"TYPHOON ROUNDABOUT KICK!"
A frenzy of smeared feet continuously smacked Dipper in the face, tossing him back and forth before his legs merely gave out. He raised his head, his swollen cheeks throbbing, to see Rumble standing over him with his hands on his hips, mockingly laughing at his opponent's collapse.
"This is getting me nowhere…" Dipper noted. "I can't afford to let him beat me again; if not for my sake, then for Wendy's!" He made it up to one knee, "It may not make it a fair fight, but I gotta do anything I can to win!"
Rumble's face dropped as he noticed the small child in front of him beginning to morph. An instant later, half a dozen razor-tipped gears appeared in between Dipper's fingers. He lifted his head and flashed a devlish smile.
"BUSTER CHANGE – METAL BLADE!"
Dipper flicked his hands, sending the pointy cogs towards the hulking villain. Rumble raised his mighty arms to protect himself as the blades cut into his digital flesh, sending sprays of pixels fluttering. He peeked out from his shelter to view the collateral damage, "UH-HUH?!" The combatant pointed at Dipper, after plucking a Metal Blade from his shoulder, "What is this? You are not following the way of the warrior!"
"Rumble…" Dipper murmured, shaking his head as he began to summon another weapon, "We are wwwwaaaaayyyyy past that…QUICK BOOMERANG!"
The armored detective shot two boomerangs at Rumble, each one pinning a shoulder against a tree. Rumble tried to pull and tug his lumbering biceps loose, as Dipper switched equipment for a third time, "CRASH BOMBER!"
A series of flashing, blinking drills were lunged around the woodwork where Rumble was trapped. "AHA! Puny runt believes he can defeat me with shiny objects?! HAHA! You are surely mistaken!"
Dipper simply crossed his arms and waited for time to pass, "We'll see…" knowing that his enemy was unaware that the flashing became faster and brighter…
*KA-BOOM!* *KA-BOOM!* *KA-BOOM!* *KA-BOOM!* *KA-BOOM!* *KA-BOOM!*
The explosions rocked the earth around them, making several of the surrounding trees give way. Layers of dust and wood particle sprung up with every new fall. For some reason, Dipper instantly was reminded of Wendy's father, "Heh…I wonder if Manly Dan would be proud…"
A boisterous yell filled the empty natural setting as a huge form flew out from the dirt-cloud. Rumble, with enormous timber in hand, flung the log straight at Dipper in hopes of squashing the thirteen-year-old like a bug.
"ATOMIC FIRE!"
With one touch from his gloved fingertip, Dipper instantaneously reduced the heavy object to mere cinders. He looked up at the still-airborne Rumble, who could only stare at the small wonder in disbelief.
"AIR SHOOTER!"
With his now-fan-like arm, Dipper heaved the Fight Fighter against the nearest tree, watching as Rumble painfully slid down the redwood, breaking several branches as he fell to earth. The game character huffed and puffed as his body began to quiver uncontrollably.
"This is…not over!" He flipped on his feet, "I will not be beaten by the likes of you!" His singular eye turned a cloudy white as he flexed, causing lightning bolts to travel across his body. He strained as he shouted to the sky, "FIST – PUNCH – RAIN!"
The atmosphere began to pour purple and pink pixel fists! They smashed against the innumerable trees in the woods, causing them to bend or cave in. Dipper remembered exactly how agonizing the attack was when it was unleashed on him (and poor Soos who was on the sidelines) last time.
"LEAF SHIELD!"
Rumble found himself flabbergasted as Dipper stepped forward, a group of nearly two dozen metal leaves endlessly encircled his shorten form, protecting him from the attack raining overhead. As soon as the stream passed, Dipper threw his hand out, sending the jagged foliage towards Rumble. They grazed his 16-bit skin, making him groan and cry out.
"ENOUGH!"
Fully enraged, Rumble threw his arm into the air as thunder filled the heavens. Lightning struck his hand, filling it with a blinding blue energy. Dipper stepped back as he started to flashback to how their last encounter ended, "It's his finisher! The Super-Power-Ninja-Turbo-Neo-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-Multi-Alpha-Meta-Extra-Uber-Prefix Combo!" I didn't stand a chance against it last time…"
The blue glow spread around Rumble's body as it continued to grow and spasm violently. He was almost at full charge!
Dipper looked down as his blue-gloved hands balled into fists as thoughts of his redheaded crush came to mind, "Still, I have to try…for her sake!"
The boy entered a fighting stance as Rumble screamed, charging towards him at full blast. Dipper galloped as he could, drawing a fist backwards as he charged into the fray. With each dueler filled with energy, the two lounged at each other, their fists meeting dead-on…
*KA-BOOM!*
A fist-shaped mushroom cloud appeared over that isolated section of the Gravity Falls Forest. A huge crater had been left in the center of the wooded area. Rumble had been thrown against the ground, only to wind up leaning against one of the few trees that remained standing. Feeling completely weakened, the pugilist held a hand in front of his face. It appeared to be blurry, reverting to a blocky pixelated state. He was fluxing out of reality.
In the distance, Rumble could observe a shining, blue light hidden amongst the mist. Dipper Pines stood triumphant along the tree stumps. He was bruised, his titanium suit had been dented and scratched, but he was the one left standing. The teenager walked slowly towards his fallen foe, a grim and serious expression was set over him.
"Remarkable…" Rumble choked out as a somewhat satisfied smile spread across his scarred face, "It has been a long while since I have been given such an exciting, yet humbling battle…" He leaned back further against the tree, making it slant even more so. "I yield, young one, only in hopes of being able to challenge you again in order to test your limits!"
Dipper's arm cannon gave off a *WHHIRRRRLLLL!* sound as it started to glow a bright neon-yellow and green. "Sorry, Rumble, he said as stuck the blaster directly at the downed warrior, "But there isn't going to be a rematch ever again!"
Rumble seemed surprised by the victor's reaction, "What are you doing?! I have already conceded! You have won the match!"
"This isn't about some stupid match!" Dipper exclaimed, holding his buster firmly with his free hand. "This! All of this mess is your fault as much as it is mine! You are the one who originally broke the seal between the two worlds! And for what?! For petty revenge!"
"But a warrior's code…"
"SHUT UP!" Dipper drew closer, "I'm so sick and tired of hearing about your stupid code of honor when you seem to do anything but! I know I lied to you about Robbie, but I already owned up to it, Rumble! And yet, you won't let it go! Worse, you involve innocent people who have nothing to do with this whole thing! Like my sister! Or Wendy! Especially Wendy! Even now, you still want to drain her life force so you can switch places in reality with her!" Dipper held the nozzle right in Rumble's face, "I can't let you do this anymore, Rumble. So, I'm going to do what I should have a long time ago: I'm going to end it here and now!"
Rumble held his hands up in surrender, "You may be right on a lot of those things, wise one. But you are mistaken on one count. I do not wish to absorb the red-headed princess out of vengeance. Rumble must do so because there is no other way!"
A sense of hesitance started to form in Dipper's psyche, "What do you mean? No other way to do what?"
Rumble began to explain, "My goal in this "real world" is to challenge the wicked Emperor of Darkness and return things to the natural order. However, at my current state, we would been evenly matched, resulting in a stalemate. Only the girl has the amount of energy needs to give Rumble the edge to vanquish the evil one and save our worlds!"
"No, no!" Dipper shook his head, "I don't…I don't buy it. You're telling me that the only way to save Gravity Falls is for me to let you take Wendy's essence and use it to beat this guy?!"
"I know it may be hard to accept," Rumble sympathized in between coughing jags, "But such trials are part of the hero's way of life. A true hero knows that sacrifices must be made in order to protect the greater good!"
"Greater Good?!" Dipper questioned as something started to linger at the back of his mind, "But that doesn't make it right, Rumble! Even if everything counts on it, you can't just destroy a person's entire life in order to stop…the…bad…guys…."
Dipper's voice slowed to a crawl as a sense of overwhelming guilt and sadness overtook him. As if by magic, he was whisked away from the aftermath of the carnage-filled battlefield to a gentle and peaceful green plain. The stars decorated in the twilight hanging overhead let him know that it was nighttime.
"I know this place…" Dipper looked around for an answer to the anomaly. A ruined red luxury car sat in the middle of the field. A dirt trail leading off the edge of a nearby cliff alerted him to how it arrived at that spot. A beat-up gray "shag van" was parked behind him as gentle weeping could be heard coming from the driver's seat.
"I'm back at Lookpoint Point…"
"Are you serious?! Right now?!"
Dipper turned around to see a tall, slender shape forming out of the vapor. He knew the deep, yet sweetened voice anywhere.
"Wendy…"
The lumberjack-dressed girl clenched her stubby hands in frustration as she looked down at her young charge. A layer of tears started to gather around her emerald eyes as she opened them. Her freckled face offered a mere reflection of her disappointment in her friend's choice words.
"Ugh! What is wrong with guys?!" Seeing the scene replay itself in his mind's eye, Dipper noticed that for a split moment, Wendy focused away from the scene to him alone as her brow softened. The anger seemed to fade away from her, only to be replaced with a brief expression mixed with sadness, loneliness, and despair. "You only think about yourselves!" The outrage quickly returned, in spite of the teardrops flowing down her cheeks. Her eyebrows lowered once more as she pointed down at him, "All of you should just leave me alone!"
With that, Wendy covered her face, trying her best to hide her emotions from the rest of the world as she ran into the darkness of the Gravity Falls Woods.
"Wendy, wait!" Dipper wanted to call out to her. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry for crossing an invisible line between them. He wanted to tell her that things would be okay. He wanted to ask if he (and Stan) could give her a ride to ensure she made it home safely.
But he didn't…
Instead, for the second time, the boy stood speechless, lost and confused in his own thoughts and feelings, partially unaware of what had exactly happened seconds ago. He had finally saved his damsel from her treacherous and deceitful gothic boyfriend, bringing their secret feud to a justified end, and yet, she chose to rush into the depths of the forest to deal with her pain instead of into his awaiting arms. Wasn't coming to the rescue and winning the fight enough for her?
As Dipper remained by himself on the highlighted section of the hillside, Grunkle Stan and Robbie seemingly frozen in time and space, he could make out an echo replaying over and over again. It was the sound of his own voice as he argued with his twin sister Mabel:
"But, I had to stop him, Mabel! It was for the greater good! Sure, I know it made Wendy mad, but at least she's safe…"
"Robbie may have broken Wendy's heart, but you're the one that made her cry. What does that tell you?"
The image of his redheaded crush turning around to meet him reran its course. Her green eyes were bone-dry until he opened his mouth about his impromptu bowling invitation, his appalling attempt to pretend nothing important had just happened. Dipper was brought to a horrific conclusion as he sank to his knees in desolation:
"What have I done?!"
At long last, Dipper Pines finally understood the lesson that the entire universe had been trying to tell him time after time. It took seeing a parallel through his once-favorite-video game character for him to realize the true consequences of his choices that fateful night.
"I get it…" His orange, blue and grey outfit was again replaced by the solid blue armor that seemingly weighted him down on the ground, "I finally get it now….they were all right…Mabel, the Mask, those demon guys in my nightmare; all of this is my fault. I said I went to Lookout Point that night to save Wendy, but I wanted…I wanted to get rid of Robbie even more…"
He raised his gaze to the stars as he persisted in his confession, "And when everything was said and done – when I actually had a chance to save Wendy in the way that she needed to be saved – I…I ignored her. I could care less about her wants and needs, or how this whole thing affected her. All I did was gloat with Stan about how I stopped Robbie. I didn't even bother to ask if she was alright…"
Dipper lowered his head as the guilt came to a head, "Wendy has every right to hate my guts. That stupid mask was right – I really am a bad guy…"
Suddenly, a loud karate cry bought Dipper back to reality. A large, pixelated fist was inches from his face. In response, the super-powered lad grasped the mighty limb with his free hand and hurled its owner roughly downwards, creating a string of cracks along the earth. He found himself holding his trusty buster over the face of a shocked Rumble McSkirmish.
"WHAT?!" Dipper barked, his mind and heart set aquiver by his inner revelation, "You DARE try to cheap shot me?!" As he was about to pull the trigger to end the gaming threat, the voice of his newest mentor called out to him:
"All great heroes are led through what lies in their heart…"
The hand squeezing Rumble's fist shook ferociously as Dipper lowered himself to meet the stunned warrior face-to-face. "Listen to me, Rumble," he hissed through grit teeth. "This is the only time I will say it: stay away from my friends, my family, and most importantly, my girlfr – err…my best fri – err…my Wendy, or I promise you, I will blast you apart pixel brick by pixel brick. This is my mess, and I'll be the one to clean it up – without hurting her in the slightest. Do you understand me?!"
The defeated brute simply closed his eyes and nodded in agreement. Disgusted, Dipper threw the seized arm down as he walked over the colossal yellow-shaded body. As he reached the edge of the woodlands, a new, yet scrambled message displayed itself:
"WEAPON GET – UXPEOHVULGLFXORXVOBPDVVLYHFRPER – DATA ERROR!"
"Huh?!" Dipper slapped the side of his helmet, "Oh, come on! Don't tell me this thing broke during the fight!" After a few well-adjusted knocks, the note disappeared from his consciousness. "That's better!"
Rumble looked up from the ground to see his victorious opponent disappear from sight, heading back towards Main Street in downtown Gravity Falls. The fallen fighter lowered his head and chortled, "With that child leading the way…just maybe, this world still has a chance…"